Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political and human rights situation in Burma.

Ian Pearson: We remain deeply concerned about the situation in Burma. Serious abuses of human rights continue, particularly in areas of armed conflict. We regularly raise our concerns with the Burmese authorities. We believe if Burma is to attain the State Peace and Development Council's (SPDC) stated goal of becoming a 'modern, developed and democratic nation', and promote successful national reconciliation, this will require a more open and inclusive political process than is currently being pursued by the SPDC.
	We are particularly concerned that there is an increasing risk of a breakdown of relations between the SPDC and a number of ethnic ceasefire groups, including the Shan, Kachin, and Mon. We believe that the SPDC should take steps to restore confidence with these groups, inter alia through the immediate release of the Shan leaders who received heavy sentences in 2005, and an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the killing by SPDC troops of five Kachin Independence Organisation members and a civilian on 2 January.

Holocaust Memorial Day

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

Douglas Alexander: The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, an independent charity supported by the Home Office, is responsible for Holocaust Memorial Day and organises the annual commemorative event. This year's event will be held in Cardiff on 26 January under the theme "One person can make a difference", hosted by my right hon. Friend for Cardiff West, Rhodri Morgan, AM. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will be represented by officials.
	The FCO leads the UK delegation to the Task Force for International Co-operation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research, in which a number of UK community groups participate.
	The UK supported the UN General Assembly Resolution of 1 November 2005 designating 27 January as the annual Holocaust Memorial Day.

Illegal Drugs

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Government spent in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 on the reducing availability strand of its policy to prevent the supply of illegal drugs.

Kim Howells: The Government's planned expenditure on reducing the supply of drugs in 2002–03 and 2003–04 is given in its publication "Updated Drugs Strategy 2002". The amounts are £376 million and £380 million respectively.

Rwanda

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the gacaca prisoner-release system in Rwanda; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Stroud today (UIN 44815).

Terrorist Suspects (Renditions)

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 12 December 2005, Official Report, column 1653W to the right hon. Member for North East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell), on terrorist suspects (renditions), if he will list the records which were checked by officials in order to provide the answer.

Kim Howells: In the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, records were searched under "rendition" and "extradition". In the Home Office, searches were made under "rendition", "extradition" and "IND casework". In the Ministry of Defence, officials looked for relevant information in records relating to US flights using UK military airfields.

Theresa McDermott

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will investigate the case of Theresa McDermott, who was detained by the Israeli authorities on her arrival in Israel on 25 December 2005 and thereafter deported.

Kim Howells: Our embassy in Tel Aviv investigated the detention of Theresa McDermott on 25 December 2005. Ms McDermott arrived in Israel for a conference on Celebrating Non Violent Resistance in Bethlehem and was refused entry to Israel because she has been on the "black list" since June 2004 due to her participation in a demonstration at Bidu and her alleged connection to the International Solidarity Movement. Ms McDermott appealed the decision but, as the appeal was held after the date of the conference, the appeal therefore became obsolete. She was deported on 2 January 2006.
	Ms McDermott has previously tried to enter the Occupied Territories in May 2005 and was refused for the same reasons. In June 2005, Our Deputy Head of Mission wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Ms McDermott's behalf, asking for her to be allowed to enter Israel.

North West Region

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the relationship between the level of skills in the work force and economic growth in the north west region; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Increases in the economy's trend rate of growth are supported by how many people are in work, and how productive they are.
	Skills are one of the drivers of productivity and jobs, which is why as a Government, we've more than doubled overall investment in education and skills since 1997.
	The NW development agency has led the preparation of the regional economic strategy, which sets out the contribution of skills to regional and local growth in the North West. And this week I met the chair and chief executive of the Skills for Business network, and I know that they and the local Learning and Skills Council are working out with the Rochdale development agency how the skills needs of the new Kingsway Business Park, which is set to bring around 7,000 jobs to my hon. Friend's area, can best be met.

Public Finances (Forecasts)

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he is taking to improve the reliability of public finances forecasts.

Charles Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the reliability of public finances forecasts.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer I gave on the Floor of the House earlier today to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (James Duddridge).

EU Budget (Rebate)

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the future value of the UK rebate within the EU budget.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the Prime Minister's statement to the House on 19 December and to the reply given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the right hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (Mr. McFall) on 20 December 2005, Official Report, column 2796W.

Departmental Vehicles

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cars are (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department; what models the cars are; what type of petrol each model requires; and what the fuel efficiency is of each model.

John Healey: The Treasury does not own any cars. The GCS provides six cars to the Treasury's Ministers and the permanent secretary. For vehicles provided to Government Departments by the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport has asked the chief executive of the GCDA to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many meetings of the EU (a) Customs Cooperation Subcommittee-EEC-Israel, (b) Customs Cooperation Subcommittee-EEC-Hong Kong, (c) EEC-Mexico Special Committee on Customs Cooperation and (d) Advisory Committee on the Communities' own resources have taken place during the UK presidency of the EU; who presided over each meeting; what other UK representatives were present; what provision was made for representation of the devolved governments; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is as follows:
	(a) There have been no meetings of the Customs Cooperation Subcommittee-EEC-Israel during the UK presidency.
	(b) There was one meeting of the EC-Hong Kong Joint Customs Cooperation Committee during the UK presidency on 18 November, Co-chaired by European Commission and Hong Kong Customs. Officials from Foreign and Commonwealth Office and HMRC represented the UK presidency. No provision was made for representation of the devolved governments.
	(c) The EEC-Mexico Special Committee on Customs Cooperation met once during the UK presidency on the 21 October 2005 in Brussels, chaired by the Commission.
	The UK was represented by officials from the UK Permanent Representation to the EU. This was attended by UKRep.
	(d) There were three meetings of the Advisory Committee on the Communities' own resources during the UK presidency, on 7 July, 13/14 October and 8 December. The Commission chaired these meetings. The UK representatives were officials from HMRC.
	These working groups deal with reserved matters and as such no provision was made for representation of the devolved Administrations.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many meetings of the EU (a) Joint Committee (EEC-Switzerland) on the simplification of inspections and formalities (and working party), (b) Customs Section of the Joint Committee (EEC-Norway), (c) Customs Section of the Joint Committee (EEC-Iceland) and (d) Customs Section of the Joint Committee (EEC-Switzerland-Liechtenstein) have taken place during the UK presidency of the EU; who presided over each meeting; which other UK representatives were present; what provisions were made for representation of the devolved governments; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is as follows:
	(a) There has been one meeting of the Joint Committee (EEC-Switzerland) on the simplification of inspections and formalities (and working party) and the (d) Customs Section of the Joint Committee (EEC-Switzerland-Liechtenstein) during the UK presidency on 27 October 2005. The Commission represents the EC.
	(b) There were no meetings of the Customs Section of the Joint Committee (EEC-Norway) during the UK presidency.
	(c) There have been no meetings of the Customs Section of the Joint Committee (EEC-Iceland) during the UK presidency.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many meetings of the EU (a) European Area Joint Committee, (b) Joint Committee with the countries of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), (c) Joint Committee on the Agreement concerning products of the clock and watch industry between the EEC and Switzerland and (d) Joint Committee on the Agreement between Switzerland and the EEC on the processing traffic in textiles have taken place during the UK presidency of the EU; who presided over each meeting; what other UK representatives were present; what provisions were made for representations of the devolved governments; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is as follows:
	(a) The European Economic Area Joint Committee is made up of representatives of the EEA EFTA States and the European Commission and met on 8 July, 30 September, 21 October and 2 December. The UK did not attend.
	(b) We are not aware of any meetings of the "Joint Committee with the countries of the European Free Trade Association" during the UK presidency; however representatives of the Finance Ministries of the EFTA countries met in Brussels alongside the ECOFIN Council meeting on 8 November. The Paymaster General chaired a meeting with EFTA on behalf of the EU Presidency.
	(c) The Joint Committee on the Agreement concerning products of the clock and watch industry between the EEC and Switzerland did not meet during the UK presidency.
	(d) There was one meeting of the Joint Committee on the Agreement between Switzerland and the EEC on 27 October 2005. The Commission represents the EC.
	These working groups deal with reserved matters and as such no provision was made for representation of the devolved Administrations.

VAT (Commemorative Headstones)

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to exempt commemorative headstones for graves from VAT.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on 15 December 2005, Official Report, column 2275W.

VAT Fraud

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether he intends to bring forward legislation to combat missing trader intra community, or carousel, VAT fraud as a consequence of the European Court of Justice judgment in the joined cases of Optigen Limited, Fulcrum Electronics Limited and Bond House Systems Limited;
	(2)  what estimate HM Revenue and Customs has made of its total liability for VAT refunds as a consequence of the European Court of Justice judgment in the joined cases of Optigen Limited, Fulcrum Electronics Limited and Bond Houses Systems Limited;
	(3)  what the implications are of the European Court of Justice judgment in the joined cases of Optigen Limited, Fulcrum Electronics Limited and Bond Houses Systems Limited; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government note the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and will, of course, follow the guidance it has given. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will now consider the detail of the ruling in order to determine the extent to which it applies to their previous decisions. The amounts claimed as recoverable VAT by the three traders total almost £40 million.
	It is not possible to give a precise figure of the total amount that may be repaid to all traders affected by the decision, as the status of each case is being reviewed in the light of the ECJ's guidance and other action to protect the revenue may be taken.
	The Government remain determined to tackle Missing Trader Intra Community (MTIC) VAT fraud and the criminals perpetrating it. HMRC is intensifying its operational activities throughout the UK and its cooperation with other countries to combat this fraud.
	In order to strengthen further our strategy to combat VAT fraud, the Government have made an application to the European Commission (EC) for a derogation from the provisions of the EC sixth VAT directive to enable it to introduce a reverse charge procedure for transactions between VAT-registered businesses in certain goods. The Government consider this measure to be a proportionate response to MTIC fraud. This is only one facet of a comprehensive strategy designed to thwart MTIC fraud by taking the criminal profit out of the transaction.
	This measure will be targeted on those goods used in MTIC fraud, in particular mobile telephones, computer chips and some other similar electronic items. However, the Government will also be monitoring very closely how those carrying out this fraud react to this measure and will not hesitate to act to prevent any further threats to the tax system.

Ladbroke Grove Crash

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2005, Official Report, columns 1857–858W, on the Ladbroke Grove crash, when he expects the remaining four recommendations from public inquiry reports to be implemented.

Derek Twigg: The four outstanding recommendations and the anticipated completion dates are:
	1. Pilot schemes (on train protection) using ETCS or ETCS elements should be carried out.
	Trial of ERTMS on the Cambrian line is due to enter service in 2008.
	2. The selective fitment of GSM-R (a radio system) in advance of ETCS fitment to trains should be considered.
	3. There should be a national system of direct radio communication between trains and signallers.
	Network Rail is implementing GSM-R across the network, starting with Strathclyde during 2006 with full national completion due in 2012.
	4. Suppliers of products or services of a safety-critical kind should be required to hold an accreditation but the features of such a system require further study.
	The Railway Industry Supplier Approval Scheme is scheduled to be rolled out throughout 2006, starting in March.

P-plate Scheme

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what consultations his Department undertook on introducing a compulsory probationary P-plate scheme for newly-qualified drivers;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to encourage take-up of the P-plate scheme among newly-qualified drivers.

Stephen Ladyman: A compulsory P-plate scheme was one of the options discussed in the Department's consultation paper, "A Structured Approach to Learning to Drive", published in 2002. The decision letter responding to that consultation, published in August 2004, explained that Ministers had decided against additional regulation of newly-qualified drivers, and no further work has therefore been done on a P-plate scheme. Copies of the consultation paper and the decision letter were placed in the Library of the House and are also available online at—http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_control/documents/contentserver template/dft_index.hcst?n=10204&l=2.
	The Department also commissioned research in September 2003 on the likely impact of a trial P-plate scheme, during which free plates would be issued to all those passing the practical driving test. This study found so much resistance to P-plate use within the target population, however, that the trial itself was abandoned. A short report on this project will be published by the Department in due course.

Child Care

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what consultation events were held with key stakeholders in relation to child care during 2005; what Government representatives attended these events; and what the cost of each event was;
	(2)  how many structured discussions were held with parents through local forums about child care during 2005; what Government representatives attended these discussions; and what the cost of each discussion was.

Beverley Hughes: We have consulted widely with parents and key stakeholders on child care throughout 2005 and details of principal events are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Event Government representatives who attended  Cost 
		
		
			 Eight events held to consult on the development of the Early Years Foundation Stage attended by a range of key stakeholders Primary National Foundation Stage Advisors £34,400 
			 Seven regional seminars held with local authorities on Phase 2 of the Children's Centre's programme DfES officials £50,000 
			 A consultation with key stakeholders on the Ten Year Strategy for Childcare at 11 Downing Street Minister and Paymaster General from Treasury £700 (excluding food) 
			 Several events held with local authorities and practitioners from the private and voluntary sectors to discuss the free entitlement code of practice. DfES Officials  
			 Staff time only   
			 Five focus groups held with parents looking at their information needs DfES contractors £40,000 
			 Parenting strategy stakeholders meeting to discuss parenting issues to develop a DfES   
			 Parenting strategy. DfES officials £1,102 
			 11 events held with parents to discuss the Ten Year Strategy Ministers and Paymaster General from Treasury £70,000 
			 Seminars for representatives of local authorities, PCTs, strategic health authorities, the voluntary and community sector and the police consulting on "The 10 Year Childcare Strategy" were held as part of the "Every Child Matters : Delivering change for children" regional events. DfES officials The total cost of these event, (which included nine other seminar choices in addition to those on childcare) was £569,607.65 (excluding VAT) 
		
	
	In addition, the national remodelling team within the Teacher Development Agency has an ongoing programme of events with local authorities, schools and other key stakeholders to consult and support them in the development of extended services, including childcare accessible through schools. Costs vary according to region and the number of attendees but some examples of key events held during 2005 include a national conference with Directors of Children's Services, other senior local authority staff and key stakeholders at a cost of £84,351 and nine regional briefings for local authority delivery managers and stakeholders from the early years, childcare and health sectors at an average cost of £7,538 per event.

Departmental Expenditure

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the organisations to which her Department made payments through grants or contracts other than in relation to the Department's administrative expenditure over the value of £20,000 in 2004–05.

Bill Rammell: A list of organisations who received over £20,000 in grants and contracts in 2004–05 from the Department of Education and Skills other than in relation to the Department's administrative expenditure has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Employer Training Programme

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the Institute of Fiscal Studies evaluation of the employer training programme; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The IFS report identified a number of issues relating to the employer training pilots. The report has highlighted that we need to do more to attract the harder to reach employers and the subsequent phases of the pilots have shown us better how to do so. That has been one of the many real values of the pilots and their evaluation.
	In some ETP areas around 25 per cent. of eligible employers are now taking part in the pilots—a far higher penetration rate than the 8 per cent. that IFS estimated carried out similar training without the pilots. We therefore anticipate that a higher proportion will be additional. Skills brokers in the new national programme, Train to Gain, will have a target of at least half the employers they engage being "hard to reach", additional employers. We are making £15 million available in 2005–06 and £20 million in 2006–07 to develop the capacity of the brokerage network and implement a performance management system that focuses services on this priority and rewards achievement accordingly.
	A number of evaluations, including the IFS report, have shown that employers identify many benefits from ETP including productivity improvement, changed attitudes to learning, improved motivation and provided employers and employees with a platform for progression. Participating employers were more likely to train their low-skilled staff to the benefit of their business and say that ETP has allowed them to train more people over a shorter period of time. So we are confident that we are already involving more hard-to-reach learners.
	We expect Train to Gain to deliver over 40,000 additional level 2 qualifications in 2006–07; over 140,000 in 2007–08 and, by the time the programme reaches full capacity, 175,000 in 2008–09 and in each year thereafter.

Fast-track to Attendance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what guidance she has given to local authorities in relation to Fast-track to Attendance and young carers;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the proportion of identified serial truants who are young carers.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will ensure that teachers and school staff are aware of (a) the needs of young carers and (b) the impact caring responsibilities may have on their schoolwork and attendance at school.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 20 January 2006
	The Government want to ensure that young carers can gain maximum life chance benefits from educational opportunities. Local authority children's services and adults social services should work with families to ensure that young people are not expected to carry inappropriate levels of caring. We have also advised schools that in a genuine crisis, they can approve absence for a child to care for a relative until other arrangements are made—the school should set a time limit for the absence and set some school work so that the pupil does not fall far behind while at home. This advice is reflected in the existing guidance on the codes which are used to record absence and attendance in the school register. It is also reflected in "Managing Behaviour and Attendance: Groups at Particular Risk". This guidance has been available since 1999, initially included within the Department's Social Inclusion circulars, and was published again on the Department's school attendance and behaviour website in 2005 as "Managing Behaviour and Attendance: Groups at Particular Risk".
	The Department has not made any assessment of the proportion of young carers who have school attendance difficulties and does not collect or hold data that would enable it to do so. Census data are based on self-identification by carers' families.
	When a pupil is not attending school regularly, for whatever reason, local authorities are best placed to decide on the most appropriate course of action on a case by case basis. The Government would expect, however, any assessment of school attendance difficulties to take into account the possibility of circumstances such as caring responsibilities.
	One of the options available is the Fast-track to Attendance framework which is a time-focused approach to case management. Its aim is to ensure that schools and local authorities deal with attendance cases quickly and in the most effective way to get the child back into school. The Fast-track framework promotes early intervention both by the school and, when necessary, by the local authority and other agencies. Fast-track is not just about prosecutions or sanctions, rather the approach aims to ensure that appropriate action is taken to identify and tackle attendance problems as soon as they become apparent. Guidance on the 'Fast-track' process was issued to local authorities in 2003. As the guidance relates to a process it does not specifically refer to young carers or any other group.

Higher Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the participation rate of each age group in (a) higher education and (b) first degree courses in (i) Southend, (ii) Essex, (iii) Hertfordshire, (iv) Greater London and (v) England was in each year since 1978.

Bill Rammell: The available information is given in the tables.
	The latest available figures on participation by local areas were published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in January 2005 in "Young participation in higher education", which is available from the HEFCE website at: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_03/. The HEFCE report shows participation rates for young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19 disaggregated by constituency, local education authority (LEA) and region for the years 1997 to 2000.
	Figures for the relevant LEAs and Greater London, together with the comparable figure for England, are shown in the table.
	
		Young Participation Rate (YPR (A)) Percentage
		
			  Year cohort aged 18 in: 
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 Southend-on-sea(11) 26 23 24 27 
			 Essex(11) 27 26 27 28 
			 Hertfordshire(11) 37 35 37 38 
			 Greater London 33.1 34.2 35.0 36.4 
			 England 29.2 28.8 29.2 29.9 
		
	
	(11) Figures are reported to the nearest whole number.
	Source:
	Higher Education Funding Council for England
	The Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR) measures the percentage of English-domiciled students aged 17 to 30 years, participating in higher education (both full-time and part-time courses) at UK Higher Education Institutions and English Further Education Colleges. The available figures for the academic years from 1999/2000 to 2003/04 are shown in the table.
	
		Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR) for English domiciled entrants (full-time and part-time) to higher education courses from 1999/00 to 2003/04(12)
		
			  HEIPR 
		
		
			 1999 41 
			 2000 42 
			 2001 42 
			 2002 43 
			 2003 43 
		
	
	(12) Calculations are based on data provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency and the Learning and Skills Council.
	Source:
	DfES National Statistics Statistical First Release 14/2005, "Participation Rates in Higher Education: Academic Years 1999/2000—2003/2004 (Provisional)".
	The figure for 2004/05 will be published in April 2006.
	The Age Participation Index (API) measures full-time participation by UK-domiciled students, aged below 21 years, in higher education courses in Great Britain. Ramsden, B. (1995), 'Participation in Higher Education: A Study to Determine Whether the Higher Education Initial Participation Rate Should Be Disaggregated', confirmed that there are significant weaknesses in the Age Participation Index and the figures should therefore be treated with caution.
	The available figures are shown in the table.
	
		Age Participation Index(13) for UK-domiciled ants to higher education courses in Great Britain 1978/79 to 2001/02  Percentage
		
			  API 
		
		
			 1978 12 
			 1979 12 
			 1980 13 
			 1981 13 
			 1982 13 
			 1983 13 
			 1984 14 
			 1985 14 
			 1986 14 
			 1987 15 
			 1988 15 
			 1989 17 
			 1990 19 
			 1991 23 
			 1992 28 
			 1993 30 
			 1994 32 
			 1995 32 
			 1996 33 
			 1997 33 
			 1998 31 
			 1999 32 
			 2000 33 
			 2001 35 
		
	
	(13) The Age Participation Index is defined as the number of home domiciled initial entrants to full-time and sandwich undergraduate higher education courses in Great Britain, aged under 21, expressed as a percentage of the average number of 18 and 19 year olds in the population.
	Source:
	DfES.

Looked-after Children

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what national targets she has set for reducing the number of looked-after children (a) placed more than 20 miles from their local authority, (b) placed in independent placements and (c) from black and ethnic communities.

Maria Eagle: There are currently no national targets for any of these categories. In SR2004 a National PSA target for Looked After Children was set as follows:
	To narrow the gap in educational achievement between looked after children and their peers, and improve their educational support and the stability of their lives, so that by 2008, 80 per cent. of children under 16 who have been looked after for 2.5 or more years will have been living in the same placement for at least two years, or are placed for adoption.
	This target is a recognition of the fundamental importance of stability to the lives of these most vulnerable of children and young people. However data on the groups of looked after children are available in the departmental statistical volume: "Children Looked After by Local Authorities, Year Ending 31 March". The most recent figures are available at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DBA/OL/v000569/index.shtml

Nursery Schools (West Lancashire)

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in West Lancashire constituency attended nursery in each of the past 10 years; and how many have taken up free nursery places since the policy was introduced.

Beverley Hughes: All four-year-olds have been entitled to a free early education place since 1998 and from April 2004 this entitlement was extended to all three-year-olds. The free entitlement consists of a minimum of five two and a half hour sessions per week for 33 weeks of the year for six terms before statutory school age, which is the term following their fifth birthday.
	Some local authorities may additionally offer subsidised childcare places but this information is not collected centrally.
	Figures for January 2005 show that all four-year-old children receive some form of free entitlement. The figure for three-year-olds is 96 per cent. This covers all maintained, private, voluntary and independent providers and represents 535,100 three-year-olds and 568,300 four-year-olds.
	The available information on the number of free nursery education places taken up by three and four-year-olds in West Lancashire parliamentary constituency area and Lancashire local authority is shown in the tables.
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 43/2005 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2005 (final)" in September, which is available on my Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/.
	
		Number of free nursery education places(14) taken up by 3 and 4-year-olds, Lancashire local authority
		
			  3-year-olds 4-year-olds 
			 Position in January each year Maintained nursery and primary schools(15) Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers Total 3-year-olds Maintained nursery and primary schools3 Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers Total 4-year-olds 
		
		
			 1997 4,400 n/a 4,400 n/a n/a (17)12,400 
			 1998 4,400 n/a 4,400 n/a n/a (17)13,500 
			 1999 4,400 n/a 4,400 n/a n/a (17)16,000 
			 2000 4,300 (18)0 4,300 n/a n/a (17)15,900 
			 2001 4,200 (18)5,200 9,400 n/a n/a (17)15,700 
			 2002 4,100 (18)5,300 9,400 10,500 (17)2,500 13,000 
			 2003 3,900 (18)6,200 10,100 10,200 (19)2,500 12,700 
			 2004 3,800 (20)6,700 10,500 10,100 (21)2,600 12,600 
			 2005 3,700 (20)6,600 10,200 9,600 (21)2,500 12,100 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(14) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
	(15) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(16) Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(17) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
	(18) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Nursery Education Grant data collection exercise.
	(19) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census supplementary data collection exercise and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(20) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(21) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	
		Number of free nursery education places(22)taken up by 3 and 4-year-olds, West Lancashire parliamentary constituency
		
			  3-year-olds 4-year-olds 
			 Position in January each year Maintained nursery and primary schools(23) Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers(24) Total 3-year-olds Maintained nursery and primary schools(25) Other mtd and private, voluntary and independent providers(26) Total 4-year-olds 
		
		
			 2004 390 460 850 900 190 1,100 
			 2005 400 450 850 810 190 1,000 
		
	
	(22) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 as appropriate.
	(23) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(24) Part-time equivalent number of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	(25) Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Annual Schools' Census.
	(26) Part-time equivalent number of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year from the Early Years Census and the Annual Schools' Census.
	Changes in pupil figures may arise from changes to the underlying population in the local authority area and other factors. However, my Department doesn't publish population figures for individual age cohorts at sub-national level because of the unreliability of the underlying population estimates. The Office for National Statistics publish sub-national population estimates in five-year age bands.

Sports Programmes

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the likely effects of the establishment of the National Sports Foundation on (a) the Football Foundation and (b) community programmes run by (i) the Rugby Football Union, (ii) the Rugby Football League and (iii) the Lawn Tennis Association;
	(2)  what part will be played by (a) Sport England and (b) regional sports boards in the operation of the National Sports Foundation;
	(3)  what decisions have been made on the (a) size of, (b) location of, (c) budget of, (d) condition of and (e) key personnel to be involved with the National Sports Foundation;
	(4)  what progress has been made towards establishing the National Sports Foundation.

Richard Caborn: The National Sports Foundation (NSF) will be launched in April with funds being available from that date. The budget is £27.5 million over the next two years.
	The NSF will be responsible for levering in additional private sector investment for grassroots sport and marketing and promoting the benefits of grassroots sport. It will have a strong, recognisable brand. There will be national and regional funding streams.
	There will be three broad programmes for the initial period:
	Fit for Sport—projects to improve both physical and human infrastructure for community clubs;
	2012 Kids—building on the success of winning the Olympics, projects to encourage children to take up sport; and
	Women in Sport—projects to increase female participation in sport.
	The NSF will be delivered using Sport England's infrastructure. We need an established delivery structure so that the NSF is up and running from April. It will have a governance arrangement that allows for a light touch and speedy decision-making process, but ensures that appropriate checks and balances are in place.
	Precise details of the governance arrangements, staffing, location and conditions, and the role of the Regional Sports Boards, is under consideration.
	The five national governing bodies—the Rugby Football Union, Football Association, England and Wales Cricket Board, Lawn Tennis Association and the Rugby Football League—will be eligible to apply for NSF funds for specific projects that meet the criteria. The NSF will not however duplicate existing funding for community sport initiatives.

Carbon Emissions

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many coal-fired power stations she estimates are not complying with the proposed EU legislation which requires the installation of equipment to cut emissions.

Elliot Morley: Pollution controls for coal-fired power stations in England and Wales are a matter for the Environment Agency and are applied through authorisations issued under the integrated pollution control (IPC) system or by permits under the EU Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive which is replacing IPC. These contain emission limits and other conditions which have to be based on the use of best available techniques (BAT).
	The EU Large Combustion Plants Directive (LCPD), which was finalised in 2001 and is being implemented through the IPPC Permit, sets emission limits for releases of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust from these plants but without prejudice to the requirements of IPPC which may in many cases be more stringent.
	The LCPD requirements for emissions limits for "existing" coal-fired power stations (those first authorised before 1987) take effect from 1 January 2008. These will be taken into account in setting the emission limits in IPPC permits, for which operators of these power stations have to apply to the Environment Agency by 31 March 2006. Provided their operators comply with their permits (and they would face enforcement action if they did not), all those power stations should therefore comply with the extant EU legislation by the due date. There are currently no EU proposals for further legislation in this area.

Administrative Costs

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which functions of his core Department are carried out in (a) England and (b) London; and what administrative costs were associated with these functions for each area in the last year.

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which functions of his core Department are carried out in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Wales; and what administrative costs were associated with these functions for each area in the last year.

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what functions in his Department are carried out in Scotland; and what the administrative costs of these functions were in the last year for which figures are available.

Don Touhig: Defence is a national capability and is funded accordingly. The wide variety of activities that support the Defence Mission are provided by the Department's 11 Top Level Budget Holders (TLBs) who are responsible for their own element of the Defence Budget. These activities are diverse and widely distributed throughout the UK and as a consequence we cannot answer the question without committing to disproportionate cost.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Stewart Hosie) on 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 215W.

Armed Forces (Spiritual Care)

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to make provision for the spiritual care of armed services personnel who have no declared religion.

Don Touhig: The armed forces provide a comprehensive range of support and care for all their personnel. In addition to this being a key responsibility of every commanding officer, such care is available from unit welfare officers, specialist welfare providers, doctors and other professionals. Chaplains, as well as providing spiritual care for Service personnel and their families within their denomination, also provide practical care for personnel of all religions or none. We also issued last year a "Guide on Religion and Belief", which includes a section on non-religious belief and no belief, including contact details for appropriate organisations.

Civil Servants

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent in each year since 1997 by his Department on salaries paid to civil servants.

Don Touhig: The gross salary costs (excluding national insurance contributions and superannuation) paid to civil servants and locally employed civilians (overseas) from 2000–01 to 2004–05 are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			£ billion 
			  Civil servants gross salary costs Locally employed civilians salary costs Total 
		
		
			 2000–01 1.756 0.221 1.977 
			 2001–02 1.750 0.211 1.961 
			 2002–03 1.754 0.218 1.972 
			 2003–04 1.785 0.241 2.026 
			 2004–05 1.892 0.257 2.149 
		
	
	Detailed analysis for 1997–2000 is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	The Executive Defence Agencies established as Trading Funds fall outside the departmental accounting boundary. For completeness, I have included the gross salary costs for civil servants and locally employed civilians (overseas) of these organisations from 1997–98 to 2004–05 in the following table.
	
		
			£ million 
			Met Office  Army Base Repair Organisation 
			  Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DEFA)/defence science and technology laboratory (Dstl)(28) UK Hydrographic office Civil servants Locally employed civilians Defence Aviation Repair Agency Civil Servants Locally employed civilians 
		
		
			 1997–98 281 16 55 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 1998–99 284 17 57 0.5 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1999–2000 293 18 59 0.4 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2000–01 305 20 59 0.5 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2001–02 141 21 58 0.5 92 n/a n/a 
			 2002–03 90 22 61 0.5 94 54 n/a 
			 2003–04 97 24 60 0.7 90 52 n/a 
			 2004–05 102 25 58 0.7 81 54 0.9 
		
	
	(28) Up to 2000–01 the figures are for DERA, 2001–02 is three months for DERA and nine months Dstl, 2002–03 onwards are for Dstl

Iraq

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many of the violent contacts between Coalition forces and insurgents in Iraq in the last 12 months were initiated by (a) British forces, (b) non-British Coalition forces and (c) insurgents; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he will answer the question from the right hon. Member for Devizes, reference 29888, tabled on 15 November for answer on 17 November.

Adam Ingram: During 2005 there were some 25,200 recorded violent incidents involving Coalition troops across the whole of Iraq. Of these, about 510 took place in MND(SE). It is not possible in all cases to determine whether those who engaged our troops were Iraqis or foreign insurgents. Nor is it always possible to determine whether those incidents represented planned attacks on the Coalition, or chance encounters with those engaged in criminal behaviour.
	In MND(SE), British troops are authorised to open fire only when they judge that doing so is the only way in which they can avert a threat to life. It follows that in the vast majority of incidents, British troops will only have opened fire when fired upon, or when clear hostile intent had been demonstrated towards them.

Iraq

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether British troops have visited the Iraqi Interior Ministry Building in the Jadirya district of Baghdad.

Adam Ingram: United Kingdom troops have visited the Iraqi Interior Ministry building in the Jadirya district of Baghdad. They did not visit the detention facility in the basement of the building nor did they see any evidence of abuse.

Iraq

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many joint exercises have been conducted by elements from (a) 16 Air Assault Brigade and (b) the Joint Helicopter Command for possible deployment to Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Elements from the Joint Helicopter Command (JHC), including 16 Air Assault Brigade, have undertaken no joint exercises in preparation for a possible future deployment to Iraq. JHC has, however provided Battlefield Helicopter support to 12 joint exercises in order to prepare other units and formations for such a deployment.
	I can however confirm that Joint Helicopter Command has undertaken three joint exercises in preparation for a possible deployment of elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade to Afghanistan.

Arbuthnot Commission

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when the Arbuthnot Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems in Scotland will publish its report; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The Arbuthnot Commission published its report on Thursday 19 January. My right hon. Friend welcomed the report and said he would consider carefully the recommendations and respond in due course.

Crime

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made by his Department in its objective of reducing crime and the threat of crime.

David Hanson: The Northern Ireland Office has a specific public service agreement to reduce the incidence of domestic burglary in Northern Ireland by 15 per cent. by March 2007 and to reduce vehicle crime by 10 per cent. in the same timescale. The reduction is measured against the recorded crime figures for the year 2001–02.
	At 31 March 2005, the level of domestic burglary against the 2001–02 recorded crime figures had reduced by 19.5 per cent. and the level of vehicle crime by 37 per cent. Further reductions have been noted in the crime figures for the first nine months of the 2005–06 year against both categories of crime. We are therefore well on course to meet these targets but will continue to closely monitor progress and take appropriate action where necessary.
	While there is no specific target to reduce the fear of crime, we consider reducing fear of crime to be a key part of our target to improve confidence in the CJSNI. It is crucial that the people of Northern Ireland feel safe in their homes and in going about their daily lives. The criminal justice organisations, working together through the Criminal Justice Board, are committed to improving public awareness and understanding of the justice system, and therefore help reduce fear of crime. A number of these initiatives include: a one-stop CJSNI website, a criminal justice module in the citizenship curriculum for key stage 4, and a series of criminal justice roadshows planned for spring and summer of this year.
	All criminal justice agencies are working towards reducing crime and the fear of crime. The police are, for example, on course to meet their target in the Policing Plan around the number of police that are available for frontline duties by 2007–08. The Northern Ireland Community Safety strategy outlines further measures to be taken forward to tackle fear of crime among older people, vulnerable adults and children. A number of successful projects have or are being implemented, including the extension of the Bee Safe project for primary school children, supporting "Get Home Safe" projects across Northern Ireland and providing information to older people about bogus callers in addition to improving home security through the Lock Out Crime scheme.

Departmental Equipment

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) laptops and (b) mobile phones his Department bought in each year since 1997; and what the cost of each category of equipment was in each year.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), excluding it's Agencies and NDPBs, is unable to provide all of the information requested by the hon. Member.
	In regards to question (a) the Department has purchased the following number of laptops since 1997:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997–98 28 
			 1998–99 34 
			 1999–2000 55 
			 2000–01 30 
			 2001–02 22 
			 2002–03 34 
			 2003–04 37 
			 2004–05 34 
		
	
	Each laptop costs, on average, £1,500.
	In regards to question (b) , we are unable to provide total numbers and costs of mobile phones as the majority of them have been purchased as part of a contract package which does not involve a cost at the time of purchase. The numbers of mobile phones we have purchased outside of contract packages are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997–98 6 
			 1998–99 8 
			 1999–2000 1 
			 2000–01 3 
			 2001–02 3 
			 2002–03 6 
			 2003–04 1 
			 2004–05 5 
			 2005–06 2

Lavery Report

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in respect of each recommendation of the Lavery Report on vetting and child protection in Northern Ireland (a) whether the Government accepts the recommendation, (b) the action that the Government have taken to date in respect of the recommendation; (c) any further action he intends to take; (d) the time scale for such further action and (e) whether the recommendation requires legislation.

Angela Smith: The Government issued a response to the report by the Commissioner for Children and Young People on vetting arrangements in Northern Ireland, "A Right to Protection", which was conducted by Ruth Lavery on 22 November 2005. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House. Government have accepted all of the Commissioner's recommendations. The response sets out the actions that have been or will be taken. Government have agreed to provide the Commissioner with time scales for the completion of outstanding actions as soon as possible. Finally, legislation will be required for those recommendations linked to the implementation of the Bichard Report in Northern Ireland.

Multiple Sclerosis

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) in each of the four health board areas are waiting to receive MS drugs; what the waiting times were in each of the four health board areas from (a) general practitioner referral to first appointment with a hospital consultant and (b) first appointment until treatment was actually received in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The number of patients waiting for MS drug treatment at 4 January 2006 and the median waiting time in each health and social services board is shown in the table.
	
		Waiting for MS drug treatment at 4 January 2006
		
			 Health board of residence Number waiting Median waiting time band (month) 
		
		
			 Eastern 54 6–8 
			 Northern 63 6–8 
			 Southern 17 6–8 
			 Western 22 9–11 
			 Northern Ireland total 156 6–8 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Nine patients currently suspended from the waiting list are excluded from these figures.
	2. Waiting time is measured from when the decision to treat the patient with disease modifying drugs for MS was taken.
	Source: :
	Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust
	The Department remains committed to improving access to specialist drugs which offer the potential for significant improvement in patient care. Disease modifying treatments for people with multiple sclerosis have been available in Northern Ireland since the mid-1990s and some 579 people are currently receiving these drugs.

Police

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent by the Police Ombudsman's Office on (a) administration and (b) case work in each year since its formation.

Shaun Woodward: The following information was provided by the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Financial year Case related expenditure(32) Administration expenditure(33) 
		
		
			 2004/05 4,445,271 3,304,840 
			 2003/04 3,952,881 2,869,500 
			 2002/03 3,902,966 2,945,546 
			 6 November 2000 to 31 March 2002 4,342,610 3,478,768 
		
	
	(32) Case related expenditure covers specifically the costs of investigative staff designated to receiving and investigating complaints, as well as directly related expenditure incurred during the course of this work.
	(33) All other costs incurred by the Office is classified under the broad heading of 'administration' and include premises related expenditure, stationary and equipment, non-cash elements such as depreciation, diminution of assets and notional cost of capital and support functions of the Office such as corporate services, executive, legal, media and policy and practice which are vital to underpin the work of the Investigations Directorate.

Avian Influenza

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts have drawn up emergency plans for a possible outbreak of avian influenza.

Rosie Winterton: It is important to be clear about the differences between seasonal influenza, avian influenza and pandemic influenza. Avian influenza is a disease which mainly affects birds. Seasonal influenza refers to the virus that circulates in the human population and causes widespread illness each winter. Pandemic influenza will only occur after an avian virus has mutated into a novel strain which can spread easily between humans, and to which they do not have immunity.
	All primary care trusts and health organisations are required to develop and maintain local contingency arrangements to respond to any influenza outbreak, including a pandemic and those plans are currently being audited.

Barts and the London NHS Trust

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Government's policy is on the provision and specialised cancer and cardiac care services at the St. Bartholomew's site as part of a dual site operation at the Barts and the London NHS Trust; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: In line with our policy of "Shifting the Balance of Power", the relevant local national health service organisations will need to plan their services within the framework of the NHS Plan and other national documents, such as the improving outcomes series of cancer service guidance and the national service framework for coronary heart disease, to meet the needs of the population they serve.

Bowel Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to prepare for increases in demands placed on NHS bowel cancer services as a result of the roll-out of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 19 January 2006
	The national health service bowel cancer screening pilot showed that screen detected cancers had no detrimental effect on bowel cancer services.
	Training in endoscopy (bowel scoping) is vital to the diagnosis of bowel cancer. To prepare for the bowel cancer screening programme, we have built on the training established as part of the NHS Cancer Plan. A national training programme has been established, with three national and seven regional centres, to train medical staff, general practitioners, nurses and other health professionals to carry out vital procedures for diagnosing bowel cancer. By increasing the pool of staff able to undertake endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures, waiting times will be reduced and services made more convenient.
	Based on current trends and definitions the training programme is projected to deliver 217 newly trained non-medical endoscopists and 1,353 medical endoscopists by 2006–07.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) produced updated guidance, "Improving Outcomes in Colorectal Cancers" (May 2004). This guidance is aimed at helping those involved in planning, commissioning, organising and providing bowel cancer services to ensure that services are configured to ensure appropriate high quality services. Implementation of NICE guidance is a developmental standard as set out in National Standards Local Action (July 2004). The Healthcare Commission is responsible for assessing progress of healthcare organisations towards achieving developmental standards.

Influenza Pandemic

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how she plans to incentivise general practitioners to provide extra capacity in primary care in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Rosie Winterton: The Department published the revised "UK Influenza Pandemic Contingency Plan" in October. The plan provides guidance for health professionals and the public in preparing for a future pandemic. Operational guidance to the national health service was issued in May which encourages them to work closely with local stakeholders in all sectors to ensure robust local plans are put in place, regularly tested and updated.
	As part of their statutory duties, primary care trusts (PCTs) should ensure arrangements are in place for the provision of primary care services in the event of influenza pandemic. Local capacity planning should include arrangements with all primary medical care contractors including general medical services, personal medical services, PCT-led medical services and alternative provider medical services. In order to meet the likely volume of work during a pandemic, PCTs should discuss with their general practitionerss the non-essential work that can be put on hold. Specific arrangements will also be needed with their out of hours providers.

Mental Health

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department has a preventative strategy on mental health; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Preventative mental health strategies are set out in the 1999 national service framework (NSF) for mental health, standard one, which is dedicated to promoting mental health for all, working with individuals and communities and to combating discrimination against individuals and groups with mental health problems and promoting their social inclusion. Local national health service bodies are expected to implement standard one in their localities.
	The NSF should be seen in conjunction with the commitments made in the White Paper "Choosing Health" to fully implement standard one nationally.
	In addition, the joint publication by the Care Services Improvement Partnership/National Institute for Mental Health in England, "Making it Possible: Improving Mental Health and Well-being in England", sets out good practice in relation to developing and delivering improved mental health well-being. This contributes to the United Kingdom commitment to developing a country-wide action plan on mental health, in line with the World Health Organisation's declaration on mental health which I signed in January 2005.

Mental Health

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with the Department for Constitutional Affairs regarding the transfer of responsibility for mental health tribunals from her Department to the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Rosie Winterton: In line with the White Paper, "Transforming Public Services: Complaints Redress and Tribunals", the mental health review tribunals will transfer to the Department for Constitutional Affairs, where they will form part of the Tribunals Service. Following discussions between our Departments, we have agreed that the transfer will take place with effect from April of this year.

NHS Finance

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her latest estimate is of the budget over-spending at (a) University College Hospital, (b) the Royal Free Hospital and (c) Whittington Hospital.

Jane Kennedy: The forecast outturn position for 2005–06, as submitted by National Health Service organisations (strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and NHS trusts) at the mid-year point (month six), is available in the Library and is also available on the Department's Health website at: www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/FreedomOfInformation/ClassesOfInformation/fs/en.
	The Department does not hold this data for University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
	University College London Hospital is a NHS foundation trust. As such, my noble Friend Lord Warner has written to the chair of the trust, Peter Dixon, informing him of my hon. Friend's inquiry. He will reply shortly and a letter will be placed in the Library.

Sexually-transmitted Diseases

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) HIV, (b) chlamydia, (c) gonorrhoea, (d) syphilis, (e) genital warts and (f) genital herpes there have been in England in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The number of cases of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis, genital warts and genital herpes diagnosed in genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in England from 1997 to 2004, are shown in the table. The number of HIV diagnoses in England from 1997 to 2004 are also shown, and include diagnoses made in GUM clinics as well as other settings such as infectious disease units and general practice.
	
		Diagnoses of HIV and other selected sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in England between 1997–2004
		
			 Condition description 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 HIV 2,533 2,635 2,902 3,646 4,801 5,883 6,827 6,789 
			 Primary and secondary syphilis 147 131 211 322 717 1,196 1,531 2,008 
			 Uncomplicated gonorrhoea 12,399 12,535 15,549 20,494 22,398 24,357 23,497 20,919 
			 Uncomplicated chlamydia 38,839 43,912 50,960 61,370 68,180 78,117 85,397 92,799 
			 Genital herpes 15,079 15,815 15,880 16,147 17,054 17,510 17,120 16,953 
			 Genital warts 58,711 59,681 61,157 60,661 62,423 63,934 65,194 68,155 
		
	
	Source:
	Reports of HIV diagnoses and KC60 returns (other STIs)

Agricultural Tariffs

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what the weighted average tariffs applied by the EU on (a) all imports from the rest of the world, (b) agricultural imports from the rest of the world and (c) non-agricultural imports from the rest of the world are in (i) most favoured nation terms and (ii) effectively applied terms;
	(2)  what the weighted average tariffs applied by the EU are on (a) imports, (b) agricultural imports and (c) non-agricultural imports from each country listed in the World Trade Organisation and world integrated trade solution database in (i) most favoured nation terms and (ii) effectively applied terms.

Ian Pearson: The calculation of weighted average tariffs requires detailed trade data at a highly disaggregated level and requires that trade data be classified according to the tariff rate at which each trade transaction takes place, i.e. it is possible for imports of a specific good to the EU from a single country to take place at more than one effectively applied tariff. Although the world integrated trade solutions database contains information on trade and tariffs, and reports weighted averages for EU trade with other countries, given the gaps and uncertainty in the data sets we are reluctant to report weighted average data as the answer may be misleading or inaccurate.
	The World Trade Organisation does provide data on the simple average most- favoured nation tariffs, i.e. those that prevail when no preferential arrangements exist, applied by the EU. These are:
	(a) 4.2 per cent. on all imports;
	(b) 5.9 per cent. on imports of agricultural goods;
	(c) 4.0 per cent. on imports of non-agricultural goods.

Career Development (Women)

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the achievements of (a) female entrepreneurs and (b) female-owned businesses.

Meg Munn: holding answer 23 January 2006
	The Government recognises the significant achievements of female entrepreneurs to the UK economy. Female entrepreneurs and female-owned businesses make a significant contribution to UK economy adding up £70 billion to gross value added.
	That's why the Government views the development of women's enterprise in the UK as an economic imperative. The Government are continuing the development of the economic argument for Women's Enterprise following the publication, in March 2005, of the booklet, "Promoting Female Entrepreneurship", which captures headline facts and has been used to stimulate thinking across Government and the regional development agencies.
	There are encouraging signs that entrepreneurial activity amongst women is increasing. Nearly one million women are self employed in the UK and this number has increased by around 10 per cent. over the last four years. 19 per cent. of UK businesses are now majority-owned by women.
	Women are seizing the opportunities to turn their good ideas into great businesses. Women such as Manjit Sahota whose business, the Rocking Horse Kindergarten based in the Holbrooks area of Coventry, provides a supportive and stimulating learning environment for pre-school children. This business provides employment for fourteen members of staff. That's good news for the local and national economy.

Energy Review

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will ensure that the energy review takes into account the work of the interdepartmental task force established by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to look at energy use in existing buildings.

Malcolm Wicks: The work of the task force on the sustainability of existing buildings, to identify suitable measures to improve the energy efficiency and reduce emissions from existing building stock, is clearly an important one. As stated clearly in our consultation document: "Our Energy Challenge. Securing clean, affordable energy for the long term", the energy review will take into account the work of the task force.

Energy Supply

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2005, Official Report, column 2252W, on energy, what assessment has been made of the international supply of gas in relation to the anticipated demand for gas; and how many years of supply can be provided from the existing resources of gas in the world.

Malcolm Wicks: The department does not estimate world gas reserves and supplies, or future world gas demand. However, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that there are currently 180 trillion cubic metres of proven gas reserves. At current production rates, the IEA estimates that these would last for 66 years; based on its expectation that production rates will increase at 2.3 per cent. per year, these reserves could then last some 40 years (source—"World Energy Outlook 2004", www.iea.org.

Energy Supply

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to assess the percentage of electricity supplies produced by gas, coal and nuclear energy in light of the anticipated shortage of gas supplies in the future.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department already reports monthly, via statistics published on its web site, on the electricity supplied by fuel by major power producers, and quarterly in "Energy Trends" on electricity supplied by fuel by all electricity generators http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/index.shtml). Copies of "Energy Trends" are available in the Libraries of the House.

Energy Supply

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of total gas for the UK he expects will be imported in (a) 2010, (b) 2015 and (c) 2020; and what proportion of this he expects will be (i) piped and (ii) imported by ship.

Malcolm Wicks: Details of new import infrastructure can be found in my right hon. Friend's "First Report to Parliament on Security of Energy Supplies" (http://www.dti.gov.uk/engegy.publications/policy/sec_supply_ first_report.pdf), which shows forecast supply and demand to 2013. Projections beyond this date are highly uncertain as key infrastructure investment decisions have yet to be made. In addition to the projects listed in the report, new liquefied natural has (LNG) projects at Canvey Island and Teesside have recently been announced. Independent studies have suggested that imports may account for around 75 percent. of total gas supply to the UK by 2015–16 and 90 percent. by 2020–21. The proportion of future gas imports to the UK from pipes and ships, and any plans to construct further infrastructure, will be commercial matters for market participants.

Exports

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value of British exports to (a) the Eurozone area, (b) the pre-enlargement 15 EU member states and (c) the post-enlargement 25 EU member states was in each quarter since 1997.

Ian Pearson: Data is not available for all the quarters requested. Those quarters for which data has been published are shown in the following table.
	
		UK exports of goods and services to European countries £ million
		
			  EMU12 EU15 EU25 
		
		
			 1997 Q1 — 29,281 — 
			 1997 Q2 — 29,333 — 
			 1997 Q3 — 29,490 — 
			 1997 Q4 — 30,246 — 
			 1998 Q1 — 30,106 — 
			 1998 Q2 — 30,410 — 
			 1998 Q3 — 30,249 — 
			 1998 Q4 — 30,201 — 
			 1999 Q1 28,078 30,270 31,335 
			 1999 Q2 28,535 30,703 31,781 
			 1999 Q3 30,229 32,394 33,496 
			 1999 Q4 30,573 32,708 33,919 
			 2000 Q1 30,996 33,365 34,547 
			 2000 Q2 31,986 34,341 35,491 
			 2000 Q3 32,908 35,351 36,598 
			 2000 Q4 34,055 36,400 37,893 
			 2001 Q1 33,807 36,286 37,843 
			 2001 Q2 34,000 36,449 37,781 
			 2001 Q3 33,309 35,654 36,988 
			 2001 Q4 32,245 34,492 35,946 
			 2002 Q1 33,517 35,298 37,233 
			 2002 Q2 35,240 37,446 39,233 
			 2002 Q3 33,542 35,769 37,539 
			 2002 Q4 32,130 35,066 35,822 
			 2003 Q1 33,833 35,442 37,661 
			 2003 Q2 32,423 34,302 36,184 
			 2003 Q3 32,631 34,430 36,532 
			 2003 Q4 34,069 35,565 38,210 
			 2004 Q1 32,398 32,635 36,343 
			 2004 Q2 33,683 — 37,844 
			 2004 Q3 34,355 — 38,497 
			 2004 Q4 35,530 — 39,751 
			 2005 Q1 34,957 — 39,230 
			 2005 Q2 34,989 — 39,344 
			 2005 Q3 35,694 — 40,057 
		
	
	Notes:
	Balance of payments basis.
	If the data for the EU15 had continued to be published, it is likely that the final figures shown here would have been revised, probably slightly upwards.

Miners Compensation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many solicitors have had claims for miners' compensation suspended because an identical claim has been submitted by a second firm of solicitors.

Malcolm Wicks: 295 different solicitors have had claims suspended as a result of duplicate claims having been registered. Some of these claims will have been investigated and progressed. These figures include potential duplicate claims that have yet to be investigated and resolved. Most duplicate cases relate to deceased claims where different members of the family submit a claim. Only one claim can be pursued.

Mobile Telecommunications (London)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the capacity of mobile telecommunications in London since the difficulties experienced with the network on 7 July 2005.

Alun Michael: The Government have reviewed with industry the performance of the telecommunications sector and provision of services on 7 July 2005. This shows that there was no failure of the mobile networks but the level of demand was significantly greater than usual and exceeded the extra margin of capacity—about 20 percent. above the average daily peak—that is built into the networks for unseen demand. Consequently, service was either restricted or not available for some customers at periods during the day. The congestion was managed by the operators through the application of network calming measures such as "call gapping", which restricted access from the fixed networks onto the mobile networks—but does not affect 999 services—and by squeezing more calls within the available capacity by reducing the quality of voice calls. Restricting customers to text messages only at such times to ease congestion, as has been suggested, is not possible because voice and text services use separately allocated network channels that are not interchangeable.
	The measures taken by the operators, together with their advice to customers to keep calls short, succeeded in ensuring there was no collapse of the networks. This enabled a swift return to normal services when the congestion eased.

Nuclear Power (Wales)

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the Government have spent on the running costs of nuclear power plants in Wales in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: BNFL's records show that running costs of its nuclear power plants in Wales to 31 March 2005 are as follows.
	
		
			   £ million 
			  Trawsfynnd Wylfa 
		
		
			 1997 15.3 88.7 
			 1998 14.2 85.8 
			 1999 11.7 89.6 
			 2000 18.6 95.6 
			 2001 18.9 96.8 
			 2002 22.5 89.7 
			 2003 29.8 81.8 
			 2004 34.9 98.3 
			 2005 44.3 92.1

Parliamentary Questions

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will provide a substantive answer to question 38362.

Malcolm Wicks: I am sorry for the delay in replying to the hon. Members question. I expect to reply very shortly.

THORP

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the future of the THORP reprocessing plant.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government's position on the future of THORP was set out in the July 2002 White Paper "Managing the Nuclear Legacy". The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) expects to complete their existing order book for reprocessing spent fuel at THORP by around 2010.
	The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) are progressing with further investigations which will result in a separate report on the THORP incident. The plant will only reopen if the NII approves a safety case but if the NII is satisfied that its safety requirements can be met, the NDA in conjunction with the plant operator, the British Nuclear Group, will decide as to when to restart the plant. This decision is expected within the next few months.

WTO (Hong Kong)

Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will (a) place in the Library and (b) post on his departmental website documents prepared by his Department for the trade negotiations meeting in Hong Kong; which departmental officials accompanied him to the meeting; what carbon offset measures were established to cover the Department's delegation; and if he will make a statement on (i) matters discussed and (ii) the outcome of the negotiations.

Ian Pearson: The Government have set out regularly its objectives for the Doha development agenda and the Sixth World Trade Organisation ministerial conference in Hong Kong but does not intend to publish documents prepared by the Department in advanced of the conference, many of which contain sensitive information.
	Fifteen officials from the Department of Trade and Industry accompanied my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Minister for Trade.
	The DTI is committed to participate in the UK Government's scheme to offset carbon dioxide emissions from central Government air travel from April 2006.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to the letter of 18 July 2005 from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood on behalf of Abbas Adeli (Home Office Reference A1165607).

Tony McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate responded to the letter from my right hon. friend on 24 January 2006.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter dated 5 October 2005 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. H. Akhtar.

Charles Clarke: I wrote to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 17 January 2006.

Engagements

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next plans to visit India to discuss immigration issues.

Tony McNulty: My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary has no current plans to visit India. Officials maintain regular contact with their Indian counterparts on immigration issues and this involves some visits. I visited India to discuss immigration issues with the Delhi Government and the Punjab State Government in November 2005.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account he has taken of the views of inmates in the organisation of prison education; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Department for Education and Skills, along with the Home Office and the Department of Work and Pensions, published on 15 December a Green Paper on offender learning: "Reducing Re-offending through Skills and Employment". As part of the policy development for this document, officials invited a wide range of views, including those of organisations representing the rehabilitation and education of offenders.
	Officials, and the Minister for Skills, Phil Hope, visited prisons and probation areas, where they were able to speak directly to offenders and staff. Two discussion groups were also run with prisoners prior to publication, focusing in particular on changes that would improve education provision. Offenders will also be able to take part in the Green Paper consultation—further discussion groups will be run to facilitate this. In addition, prisoners can on a day to day basis make their views known on education matters through other means, such as talking directly to prison or probation staff including the head of learning and skills; and they may refer matters to the prisons and probation ombudsman.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the levels of overcrowding were for (a) each prison and (b) the whole Prison Estate broken down by (i) public and (ii) private sector prisons for each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The percentage of overcrowding in each prison is shown in the following table. Figures are shown for each financial year since 1998–99. The table shows the sector into which each prison falls and includes totals for public prisons, contracted out prisons and for the whole prison estate.
	
		Overcrowding Percentage
		
			 Establishment name Public/Contracted out establishment 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 to December 
		
		
			 Acklington Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Albany Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Altcourse Contracted out 30.4 53.6 71.6 79.5 98.1 96.8 78.4 83.7 
			 Ashfield Contracted out n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Ashwell Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 1.1 0.7 2.1 
			 Askham Grange Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Aylesbury Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.5 0.9 0.3 0.0 
			 Bedford Public 40.0 40.1 42.1 35.6 55.7 58.9 54.0 64.0 
			 Belmarsh Public 18.9 10.0 32.9 39.5 49.9 0.0 40.4 39.1 
			 Birmingham Public 69.7 69.8 61.5 25.5 42.7 41.6 38.5 38.3 
			 Blakenhurst Public 43.5 44.2 41.8 21.5 24.4 25.7 24.8 20.6 
			 Blantyre House Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Blundeston Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 30.7 28.2 27.6 26.7 
			 Brinsford Public 30.5 31.1 18.5 14.5 12.3 11.5 10.0 11.2 
			 Bristol Public 14.9 18.2 15.3 14.7 16.0 15.0 53.5 23.6 
			 Brixton Public 51.7 52.4 29.9 31.5 31.7 29.5 26.0 30.9 
			 Brockhill Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Bronzefield Contracted out n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.0 0.0 
			 Buckley Hall Public 0.0 0.0 11.0 13.8 8.5 14.6 18.3 11.4 
			 Bullingdon Public 21.0 21.3 17.9 30.9 35.3 27.8 37.7 42.1 
			 Bullwood Hall Public 3.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.6 4.3 0.0 0.0 
			 Camp Hill Public 24.4 30.0 22.0 40.9 51.7 47.2 21.6 21.6 
			 Canterbury Public 77.8 78.0 70.2 74.2 80.5 81.8 79.4 75.2 
			 Cardiff Public 67.9 72.2 67.4 76.6 79.2 79.5 69.2 65.3 
			 Castington Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Channings Wood Public 37.7 37.8 17.2 2.3 6.5 6.0 5.6 6.9 
			 Chelmsford Public 9.3 16.4 20.3 17.9 51.0 45.3 43.8 46.8 
			 Coldingley Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.6 8.6 
			 Cookham Wood Public 49.1 37.1 36.3 34.9 29.2 47.0 38.2 42.9 
			 Dartmoor Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.5 8.4 6.9 6.9 
			 Deerbolt Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Doncaster Contracted out 58.7 54.1 60.4 58.6 29.4 93.9 57.5 59.3 
			 Dorchester Public 71.0 64.9 54.2 59.1 73.5 76.2 76.1 75.2 
			 Dovegate Contracted out — — — 0.0 1.0 7.1 7.2 5.1 
			 Dover Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Downview Public 9.4 9.5 9.7 6.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Drake Hall Public 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Durham Public 59.5 59.8 57.1 50.1 50.9 50.7 64.9 67.7 
			 East Sutton Park Public 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Eastwood Park Public 6.6 14.0 15.8 16.8 16.8 15.7 13.9 12.4 
			 Edmunds Hill Public n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Elmley Public 42.8 43.6 24.1 25.8 47.7 53.5 55.0 54.9 
			 Erlestoke Public 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.3 4.1 5.4 5.3 5.2 
			 Everthorpe Public 13.9 13.9 1.2 13.9 13.6 13.7 12.9 18.4 
			 Exeter Public 84.6 80.3 69.4 64.9 72.5 35.7 64.8 54.5 
			 Featherstone Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.9 3.8 3.6 3.9 
			 Feltham Public 3.0 5.6 2.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Ford Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Forest Bank Contracted out n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.5 11.6 24.2 
			 Foston Hall Public 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Frankland Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Full Sutton Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Garth Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 11.3 4.0 5.1 3.3 
			 Gartree Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 
			 Glen Parva Public 29.5 35.4 26.6 55.6 53.2 48.2 42.0 44.2 
			 Gloucester Public 54.7 61.9 51.6 57.7 60.7 55.3 64.6 52.5 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Guys Marsh Public 8.7 12.5 12.2 12.5 14.1 12.7 11.7 13.4 
			 Haslar Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Haverigg Public 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.1 2.2 1.9 2.3 2.5 
			 Hewell Grange Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 High Down Public 41.3 24.5 17.6 22.3 26.7 37.5 36.9 38.6 
			 Highpoint Public 6.1 0.5 0.0 2.2 5.3 6.1 5.4 3.9 
			 Hindley Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.2 1.8 0.0 0.0 
			 Hollesley Bay Public 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Holloway Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 
			 Holme House Public 7.6 11.5 0.0 9.4 21.9 21.0 26.1 26.9 
			 Hull Public 1.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 48.1 42.9 46.9 51.3 
			 Huntercombe Public 4.5 1.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Kingston Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Kirkham Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Kirklevington Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Lancaster Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 38.2 66.5 68.6 69.5 
			 Lancaster Farms Public 12.7 8.6 5.3 11.0 10.4 9.3 9.5 11.3 
			 Latchmere House Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Leeds Public 44.9 51.4 68.5 73.5 74.6 75.1 74.5 74.3 
			 Leicester Public 80.0 82.3 77.2 84.6 89.2 88.0 86.0 86.2 
			 Lewes Public 6.6 6.7 7.3 6.0 21.3 29.0 27.7 29.8 
			 Leyhill Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Lincoln Public 68.0 64.4 64.3 63.4 59.6 68.0 69.8 68.2 
			 Lindholme Public 5.9 5.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 7.1 
			 Littlehey Public 7.5 6.9 6.4 4.8 10.2 10.4 13.1 10.7 
			 Liverpool Public 30.6 29.5 27.9 32.2 32.3 34.6 32.4 29.6 
			 Long Lartin Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Low Newton Public 83.3 25.3 28.9 28.3 30.8 28.8 25.1 24.4 
			 Lowdham Grange Contracted out 0.0 3.2 1.2 0.0 3.8 7.6 5.1 3.7 
			 Maidstone Public 7.3 15.5 15.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 21.0 4.1 
			 Manchester Public 35.5 33.7 25.6 48.7 57.4 56.3 55.6 54.0 
			 Moorland Public 5.9 5.5 6.2 6.1 7.1 5.8 5.5 5.7 
			 Morton Hall Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Mount Public 11.2 1.6 2.0 11.0 12.7 13.5 7.2 0.8 
			 New Hall Public 16.7 16.2 16.5 17.3 16.6 12.5 7.7 10.8 
			 North Sea Camp Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Northallerton Public 87.7 95.7 75.6 69.6 62.0 62.4 70.4 65.7 
			 Norwich Public 19.7 32.3 36.1 47.0 54.4 52.8 53.4 54.5 
			 Nottingham Public 0.0 0.0 24.7 45.5 57.0 56.7 62.1 54.9 
			 Onley Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Parc Contracted out 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.5 16.8 
			 Parkhurst Public 8.0 4.8 5.1 0.2 0.0 8.1 6.5 6.1 
			 Pentonville Public 33.9 39.4 33.8 31.0 34.3 36.8 40.1 37.7 
			 Peterborough Contracted out n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.0 
			 Portland Public 16.0 25.8 23.5 8.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Preston Public 79.6 79.7 81.0 79.9 92.5 91.4 90.2 93.5 
			 Ranby Public 20.9 19.7 11.0 11.7 15.7 20.0 16.2 23.0 
			 Reading Public 60.9 65.4 61.5 65.8 67.2 67.7 68.1 68.7 
			 Risley Public 8.5 8.5 0.0 3.6 6.9 4.7 5.5 7.5 
			 Rochester Public 0.0 0.0 3.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Rye Hill Contracted out n/a n/a 0.0 0.0 32.4 22.1 10.4 0.0 
			 Send Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Shepton Mallet Public 47.3 18.6 37.9 12.0 33.0 35.3 33.2 22.4 
			 Shrewsbury Public 89.2 0.0 48.6 86.6 91.1 89.6 81.2 81.0 
			 Stafford Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 50.1 62.1 55.4 58.7 
			 Standford Hill Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Stocken Public 7.8 5.1 4.8 8.3 9.0 8.4 8.5 8.5 
			 Stoke Heath Public 0.0 0.0 7.8 3.4 28.4 27.6 23.7 23.8 
			 Styal Public 0.0 5.4 7.1 10.1 21.7 7.0 17.0 18.9 
			 Sudbury Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.2 0.0 
			 Swaleside Public 1.5 0.0 0.0 0.4 3.1 3.2 3.0 4.5 
			 Swansea Public 67.8 65.0 68.9 60.1 77.6 71.6 68.8 67.3 
			 Swinfen Hall Public 13.5 13.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Thorn Cross Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Usk·Prescoed Public 50.6 51.1 52.2 54.0 55.2 51.3 54.8 54.4 
			 Verne Public 6.8 6.1 5.1 6.4 10.0 9.7 9.2 11.1 
			 Wakefield Public 5.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Wandsworth Public 28.9 33.3 32.7 37.2 46.5 58.9 58.3 73.6 
			 Warren Hill Public n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Wayland Public 6.9 4.9 5.7 6.5 11.0 11.9 10.9 11.6 
			 Wealstun Public 1.6 1.7 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 
			 Wellingborough Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 
			 Werrington Public 0.0 0.0 12.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Wetherby Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.7 0.0 
			 Whatton Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.0 10.4 22.7 
			 Whitemoor Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
			 Winchester Public 43.7 53.1 28.4 49.0 54.7 59.7 60.0 59.2 
			 Wolds Contracted out 0.0 0.0 0.0 17.2 0.0 0.0 22.3 0.5 
			 Woodhill Public 13.6 15.2 16.8 13.9 24.4 35.1 31.3 34.6 
			 Wormwood Scrubs Public 34.3 53.1 0.0 1.0 7.4 10.2 8.5 10.0 
			 Wymott Public 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 4.0 3.3 3.8 
			 Contracted out total  24.5 27.4 26.1 23.0 23.0 34.1 26.1 25.0 
			 Public total  19.6 19.6 16.8 18.2 23.4 22.9 23.7 23:8 
			 Prison Estate total  19.9 20.0 17.5 18.6 23.4 24.0 23.9 23.9

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in each prison had (a) a job, (b) training and (c) an education placement to attend upon release in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The data collected identifies prisoners entering Education Training and Employment (ETE) which includes those who attended FRESHSTART appointments at Jobcentre Plus. FRESHSTART is the initiative whereby prisoners who do not have a job or training place to go to on release are linked into employment, training and benefits advice and support immediately after release. The compound elements of ETE cannot be broken down except at disproportionate cost. Figures for ETE are given as follows.
	
		
			 Prison service area and establishment Total discharges 2004–05 ETE at discharge 2004–05 
		
		
			 East Midlands   
			 Ashwell 412 211 
			 Foston Hall (F) 244 65 
			 Gartree 1 0 
			 Glen Parva 1,242 693 
			 Leicester 495 290 
			 Lincoln 643 209 
			 Morton Hall (F) 214 56 
			 North Sea Camp 834 406 
			 Nottingham 493 278 
			 Onley 945 507 
			 Ranby 1,172 690 
			 Stocken 320 160 
			 Sudbury 569 353 
			 Wellingborough 340 148 
			 Whatton 162 59 
			  8,086 4,125 
			
			 Eastern   
			 Bedford 876 421 
			 Blundeston 175 142 
			 Bullwood Hall (F) 232 84 
			 Chelmsford 1,134 485 
			 Edmunds Hill 462 77 
			 Highpoint 593 340 
			 Hollesley Bay 688 426 
			 Littlehey 426 227 
			 Mount 408 233 
			 Norwich 1,501 499 
			 Warren Hill (J) 420 334 
			 Wayland 359 251 
			  7,274 3,519 
			 High Security   
			 Belmarsh 1,079 504 
			 Durham 844 326 
			 Durham (F) 3 1 
			 Frankland 46 12 
			 Full Sutton 45 15 
			 Long Lartin 26 5 
			 Manchester 1,239 475 
			 Wakefield 14 0 
			 Whitemoor 10 6 
			 Woodhill 1,021 386 
			  4,327 1,730 
			
			 Kent   
			 Blantyre House 69 67 
			 Canterbury 589 224 
			 Cookham Wood (F) 227 90 
			 East Sutton Park (F) 77 40 
			 Elmley 902 298 
			 Maidstone 141 51 
			 Rochester 810 320 
			 Standford Hill 1,083 566 
			 Swaleside 39 11 
			  3,937 1,667 
			
			 London   
			 Brixton 788 144 
			 Feltham 351 147 
			 Holloway (F) 663 191 
			 Latchmere House 151 143 
			 Pentonville 1,719 630 
			 Wandsworth 1,477 631 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1,251 585 
			  6,400 2,471 
			
			 North East   
			 Acklington 691 238 
			 Castington 494 286 
			 Deerbolt 549 369 
			 Holme House 1,306 454 
			 Kirklevington 157 149 
			 Low Newton (F) 582 176 
			  3,779 1,672 
			
			 North West   
			 Buckley Hall (F) 659 137 
			 Garth 114 31 
			 Haverigg 439 226 
			 Hindley 497 221 
			 Kirkham 1,445 791 
			 Lancaster 269 202 
			 Lancaster Farms 1,030 548 
			 Liverpool 2,338 1,681 
			 Preston 736 346 
			 Risley 834 540 
			 Styal (F) 824 90 
			 Thorn Cross 547 373 
			 Wymott 517 184 
			  10,249 5,370 
			
			 South West   
			 Bristol 640 262 
			 Channings Wood 403 230 
			 Dartmoor 475 172 
			 Dorchester 475 221 
			 Eastwood Park (F) 767 142 
			 Erlestoke 311 129 
			 Exeter 1,191 464 
			 Gloucester 511 325 
			 Guys Marsh 578 317 
			 Leyhill 671 383 
			 Portland 533 458 
			 Shepton Mallet 9 4 
			 Verne 161 68 
			 Weare 1,335 693 
			  8,060 3,868 
			
			 Surrey and Sussex   
			 Coldingley 87 46 
			 Downview (F) 363 48 
			 Ford 1,250 582 
			 Highdown 891 326 
			 Lewes 537 217 
			 Send (F) 199 38 
			  3,327 1,257 
			
			 Thames Valley, Hampshire and IOW 
			 Albany 69 4 
			 Aylesbury 88 77 
			 Bullingdon 1,144 590 
			 Camp Hill 420 375 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill 514 315 
			 Haslar 15 1 
			 Huntercombe (J) 815 286 
			 Kingston 0 0 
			 Parkhurst 56 44 
			 Reading 501 308 
			 Winchester 1,033 515 
			  4,655 2,515 
			
			 Wales   
			 Cardiff 1,109 401 
			 Swansea 608 293 
			 Usk/Prescoed 580 267 
			  2,297 961 
			
			 West Midlands   
			 Birmingham 2,105 584 
			 Blakenhurst 1,037 364 
			 Brinsford 590 310 
			 Brockhill (F) 240 16 
			 Drake Hall (F) 332 135 
			 Featherstone 277 149 
			 Hewell Grange 438 249 
			 Shrewsbury 643 267 
			 Stafford 443 205 
			 Stoke Heath 1,210 690 
			 Swinfen Hall 87 56 
			 Werrington (J) 352 315 
			  7,754 3,340 
			
			 Yorkshire and Humberside   
			 Askham Grange (F) 157 84 
			 Everthorpe 359 332 
			 Hull 1,200 475 
			 Leeds 2,038 976 
			 Lindholme 637 416 
			 Moorland and Hatfield 948 679 
			 New Hall (F) 781 492 
			 Northallerton 983 816 
			 Wealstun 962 621 
			 Wetherby (J) 567 347 
			  8,632 5,238 
			
			 Total public prisons 78,777 37,733 
			
			 Contracted out estate   
			 Altcourse 1,496 855 
			 Ashfield 558 277 
			 Doncaster 1,581 706 
			 Dovegate 71 19 
			 Forest Bank 1,579 594 
			 Lowdham grange 42 14 
			 Parc 1,357 833 
			 Rye Hill 85 17 
			 Wolds 139 98 
			 Total contracted out estate 6,908 3,413 
			
			 Total all prisons 85,685 41,146

Prostitution

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what programmes to assist women who wish to stop working as prostitutes receive support from his Department.

Fiona Mactaggart: No dedicated projects currently receive support from this Department. In 2000 the Home Office awarded £850,000 from the crime reduction programme to 11 multi-agency projects to assess what works in tackling prostitution.
	The evaluation of these projects was published in the Home Office research study report "Tackling Street Prostitution: Towards an Holistic Approach" and these findings will form the basis of commissioning guidance for dedicated support projects to be developed for local partnerships as part of the implementation of the recently published prostitution strategy. Government funding is already available, for example to fund drug and alcohol treatment services, to support essential elements of the work of these projects in developing routes out of prostitution.

Rates

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid by (a) HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, (b) HM Inspectorate of Prisons and (c) HM Inspectorate of Probation function in rates to each local authority in the UK in 2004–05; and how much was paid in (i) each (A) nation and (B) region of the UK and (ii) London.

Charles Clarke: The following were the rates payments made by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Probation during financial year 2004–05.
	
		
			£ 
			 Local authority HM Inspectorate of Constabulary HM Inspectorate of Prisons HM Inspectorate of Probation 
		
		
			 City of Wakefield 16,051 — — 
			 Bromsgrove DC 11,172 — — 
			 Cambridge City Council 13,794 — — 
			 Woking Borough Council 46,136 — — 
			 Trafford Borough Council — — 19,860 
			 Total Paid 87,153 — 19,860 
			 
			 (A) Region
			 Scotland — — — 
			 Wales — — — 
			 Northern Ireland — — — 
			 North West   19,860 
			 North East — — — 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 16,051 — — 
			 East Midlands — — — 
			 West Midlands 11,172 — — 
			 East of England 13,794 — — 
			 South East 46,136 — — 
			 South West — — — 
			 London — — — 
			 
			 (B) Nation
			 England 87,153 — 19,860 
			 Scotland — — — 
			 Wales — — — 
			 Northern Ireland — — — 
			 
			 (ii) London — — — 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. These Inspectorates provide services in England and Wales.
	2. Rates for their London offices which are within the Department's central London estate are paid centrally.

Rental Costs

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid in rent for properties by (a) HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, (b) HM Inspectorate of Prisons and (c) HM Inspectorate of Probation in 2004–05; and how much was paid in (i) each (A) region and (B) nation of the UK and (ii) London.

Charles Clarke: The following were the rent payments made by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Probation during financial year 2004–05:
	
		
			£ 
			  HM Inspectorate of Constabulary HM Inspectorate of Prisons HM Inspectorate of Probation 
		
		
			 (A) Region
			 Scotland — — — 
			 Wales — — — 
			 Northern Ireland — — — 
			 North West — — 57,105 
			 North East — — — 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 53,756 — — 
			 East Midlands — — — 
			 West Midlands 51,278 — — 
			 East of England 40,410 — — 
			 South East (44)205,510 — — 
			 South West — — — 
			 London — — — 
			 Total Paid 350,954 — 57,105 
			 
			 (B) Nation
			 England 350,954 — 57,100 
			 Scotland — — — 
			 Wales — — — 
			 Northern Ireland — — — 
			 
			 (ii) London(45) n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(44) Net.
	(45) The Inspectorates are housed in the Department's central London estate.
	Note:
	These Inspectorates provide services in England and Wales. Costs for their freehold London offices which are within the Department's central London estate are paid centrally.

Security (Small Ports)

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on security at small ports; and how many intelligence-led checks were made at small ports during 2005.

Tony McNulty: A small port is defined by the Immigration Service as
	"any location where we do not have a permanent presence or any other port or airport which, by virtue of volume and type of traffic, is considered suitable for exercising a flexible control".
	Port staffing levels in the United Kingdom are determined by a number of factors:
	Current and projected numbers of passenger arrivals;
	At seaports, the number of freight vehicles that will require searching;
	An assessment of the casework generated from the arriving passenger traffic; and
	Projected numbers of asylum seekers that will require interview on arrival.
	At smaller ports resources are deployed to meet arriving traffic and in addition powers under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 are used to clear passengers remotely following checks against warning indices. Passengers subject to control will be examined to ascertain whether they qualify for entry to the UK. All small ports are threat assessed for the degree of risk to the integrity of the control. Special multi-agency, and in some cases multi-national, exercises are run alongside ad-hoc intelligence checks at small ports.

Judicial Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the written statement of 15 December 2005, Official Report, column 161WS, on judicial pensions, what estimate she has made of (a) the annual cost of the long service award and (b) the annual yield from tax paid by scheme members on pension contributions.

Harriet Harman: Based on recent retirement patterns, the cost of the service award is estimated at about £6.7 million for 2006–07. This will be balanced by tax income (tax payable on the retirement lump sum, and on the service award), and additional national insurance contributions.
	Based on recent member contributions data for the judicial pension scheme, the additional tax yield, arising from the fact that member contributions will cease to attract tax relief, is estimated at about £2.5 million per annum, balanced by reduced income to the scheme.

Departmental Effectiveness

David Amess: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what evaluation his Department has undertaken of the findings of the MORI survey of perceptions of the effectiveness of his Department held by board members and unit heads within the Department; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the findings of the recent MORI poll on perceptions of the effectiveness of his Department held by external stakeholders of the Department.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Permanent Secretary is responsible for the effective leadership and management of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's 2,000 staff and for the Government office network. As part of its work, the Permanent Secretary's management board commissions surveys to ascertain the views of staff on their working environment attitudes to their work in the Department, and the leadership provided by the senior civil service in the Office.
	Peter Housden was appointed as Permanent Secretary of the ODPM in October 2005 and gave evidence to the Select Committee for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in November in which he described the purpose of the surveys. In its recent report the Committee welcomed ODPM's commitment to consulting its personnel on their experience of work and congratulated it on its success in encouraging participation in the staff survey undertaken in May 2005.
	The Permanent Secretary has subsequently said:
	"It is clear that the Office has achieved a huge amount since it was created in 2002. But we are not complacent. We have taken very seriously the views expressed in our stakeholder and staff surveys and put in place robust measures to address these concerns. We can demonstrate considerable strides forward over the past four years, but we all recognise we have more to do."
	Responses to the 2005 survey showed that 65 per cent. of staff were satisfied overall with their experience of working in ODPM. This is in line with experience across Government. In responses to the statement
	"I believe that this company/organisation is an equal opportunities employer,"
	ODPM is in the second quartile of central Government organisations (and slightly above the central Government benchmark) according to the company that undertook the survey. In response to the statement
	"I am treated with fairness and respect in this organisation,"
	ODPM is close to the top quartile of central Government organisations, also slightly above the central Government benchmark.
	In relation to bullying, responses in ODPM were in line with experience elsewhere in Government and in the second quartile of central Government organisations. Nonetheless the Permanent Secretary and Board take the issue extremely seriously and have instituted a wide range of activity to address the issues directly. The Permanent Secretary has confirmed:
	"The ODPM does not tolerate bullying or discrimination. A programme of skills and awareness training is being put in place for all senior and middle managers, to ensure the organisation creates a positive climate for all staff and has the right procedures in place to deal with cases where staff are not treated with dignity and respect."

Gypsy Sites

Mark Williams: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he intends to publish the replacement for planning circular 01–94, regarding Gypsy sites and planning.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister expects to publish the new planning circular for Gypsies and Travellers, to replace DOE circular 1/94 "Gypsy Sites and Planning", shortly.

Benefit Entitlements (Women)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what entitlement is available for women who are supporting men aged below the state pension age;
	(2)  how many (a) men and (b) women in England and Wales are receiving the adult dependency addition; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: There is a range of benefits available to people below State pension age. In some cases people may be entitled to additional benefit if they have adult dependents. Whether or not adult dependency increases are payable will depend on the particular circumstances of each case.
	The information relating to the number of men and women getting an adult dependency increase in England and Wales is in the table.
	
		
			  Men Women 
			 Benefit England Wales England Wales 
		
		
			 State pension 50,400 3,100 100 (46)— 
			 Incapacity benefit 29,300 6,600 2,100 400 
			 Severe disablement allowance 800 100 300 (46)— 
			 Carer's allowance 7,600 800 4,500 400 
			 Maternity allowance n/a n/a 100 (46)— 
			 Industrial injuries disability benefit unemployability supplement (46)— (46)— (46)— (46)— 
		
	
	n/a=not applicable
	(46) less than 100.
	Notes:
	1. Figures show Dependency increases paid in respect of a spouse or someone looking after a child.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	3. The maternity allowance figure for women in England is based on a five per cent. sample and is therefore subject to a high degree of sampling variation.
	Sources:
	State pension, incapacity benefit, carer's allowance and severe disablement allowance information—DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. as at 31 May 2005.
	Maternity Allowance—DWP Information Directorate: 5 per cent. sample as at 31 May 2005
	Industrial injuries disability benefit unemployability supplement—Industrial Injuries Computer System 100 per cent. as at 31 March 2005.

Benefit Fraud

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of benefit fraud in each year since 1990–91; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The Department produces estimates for the amount overpaid through fraud across the benefits system. Previously published results are in the table.
	
		
			  Estimate of benefit fraud (£ billion)  Comment 
		
		
			 Pre-1998 (47)— A few isolated reviews of fraud and error in individual benefits were carried out, but there was no systematic attempt to estimate the level of fraud across the whole benefit system 
			 1998 2–7 Published in the Green Paper, "Beating Fraud is Everyone's Business". Around £2 billion was considered confirmed fraud, with the remaining £5 billion coming from cases where there was a suspicion of fraud 
			 1998–99 to 2002–03 2 A change in methodology in the ongoing measurement system meant that cases were investigated in more detail, and it was no longer appropriate to include cases where fraud was suspected in the headline estimates. Figure rounded to nearest £1.0 billion 
			 2003–04 initial estimate 1.5 Figure rounded to nearest £0.5 billion 
			 2003–04 revised estimate 1.0 Figure rounded to nearest £0.1 billion. Development work to improve the quality of the estimate suggested that the original figure was an overstatement 
			 2004–05 0.9 Figure rounded to nearest 0.1 £billion 
		
	
	(47) No overall estimate available.
	In recent years, benefit fraud has been reducing and now stands at £0.9 billion per year—less than one per cent of total benefit expenditure.
	On 13 October 2005, the Department published our achievements in reducing levels of fraud in the benefit system and plans to reduce it further in "Reducing fraud in the benefit system: Achievements and ambitions". Copies are available in the Library.

Child Support Agency

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many claims were rejected by the Child Support Agency as a result of computer error in the 12 months up to December (a) 2004 and (b) 2005;
	(2)  what the (a) target time is and (b) average time taken has been before the claim is processed manually when there is a Child Support Agency computer fault that means a claim cannot be processed.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 26 January 2006
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	(1) You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims were rejected by the Child Support Agency computer in the 12 months up to December (a) 2004 and (b) 2005.
	There are still a number of defects in the new child support (CS2) computer system which can prevent some cases from progressing. I am unable to provide a full response to your question, as we do not collect information at the level of detail you have requested. The figures in the table below show the total number of cases requiring technical intervention to progress against all identified defects, outstanding at the end of each month. Data for 2004 is only available for November and December.
	These figures include cases which have been removed from the system and are being progressed clerically as well as cases for which no further action is required but which cannot be closed without technical intervention.
	The clerical process allows staff to assess these cases off-line and to ensure that any money paid in by the non-resident parent is paid out to the parent with care.
	
		
			  Month Total number of cases not being progressed on the CS2 system 
		
		
			 November 2004 36,128 
			 December 2004 25,931 
			 January 2005 30,109 
			 February 2005 28,983 
			 March 2005 25,420 
			 April 2005 25,877 
			 May 2005 21,295 
			 June 2005 23,713 
			 July 2005 25,557 
			 August 2005 26,757 
			 September 2005 28,237 
			 October 2005 29,354 
			 November 2005 32,830 
			 December 2005 33,937 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures in the table show the total number of cases not being progressed at that point in time. An IT scan is run monthly to provide this information.
	Work is on-going to remedy these problems, and IT releases are planned during 2006 and 2007 to resolve the various system performance issues.
	(2) You also asked what the (a) target time is and (b) average time taken has been where there is a Child Support Agency computer fault that means a claim cannot be processed before the claim is processed manually.
	(a) The Agency does not have a set target time to move to clerical action as the final decision to progress clerically is taken on a case-by-case basis. This decision is determined by the Agency's ability to progress the case and address the customer's needs. Where faults arise, the Agency makes every effort to identify the problem and rectify it as quickly as possible.
	(b) Information on the average length of time elapsed before a case is progressed clerically is not available. Each case is decided individually, taking into account the needs of the customer.
	I hope you find this helpful.

Parliamentary Questions

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer question 34383 tabled by the hon. Member for Lancaster and Wyre on 29 November 2005 on the Gershon review.

Anne McGuire: An answer was given to the hon. Member on 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 1044W.

Pension Credit

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) men and (b) women have claimed pension credit.

Stephen Timms: As at 30 September 2005 there are 1,714,600 women and 996,500 men in receipt of pension credit in Great Britain.
	Notes:
	1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. PC data from the Generalised Matching Service (GMS) 100 per cent. scans taken on 16 September 2005 and the figures have been rated up to give month end estimates. This is the data used for the Pension Credit Quarterly Progress Report (QPR). 3. These figures are early estimates. Operational processing times mean that a number of claim commencements and terminations are not reflected in the figures. The final figures incorporated within the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) will take account of such cases.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate: 100 per cent. GMS data